2. In section 1 of the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979 (the alcoholic liquors dutiable under that Act), in subsection (6) (definition of “cider”)(1), for the words after “section 55B(1) below,” substitute—
“cider (or perry)—
(a)which is of a strength exceeding 1.2 per cent but less than 8.5 per cent,
(b)which is obtained from the fermentation of apple or pear juice, without the addition at any time of—
(i)any alcoholic liquor, or
(ii)any liquor or substance which communicates colour or flavour,
other than such as the Commissioners may allow as appearing to them to be necessary to make cider (or perry),
(c)the pre-fermentation mixture for which satisfies the pre-fermentation juice requirement, and
(d)which satisfies the final product juice requirement.
For the purposes of this subsection—
(i)“the pre-fermentation mixture” for cider (or perry) means the mixture of juice and other ingredients in which the fermentation from which the cider (or perry) is obtained takes place, as that mixture exists immediately before the fermentation process commences,
(ii)if the cider (or perry) consists of a blend of two or more liquors constituting cider (or perry), references in this subsection to the pre-fermentation mixture are to the pre-fermentation mixtures for each of those liquors taken as a whole,
(iii)the pre-fermentation mixture for the cider (or perry) satisfies the pre-fermentation juice requirement if the volume of apple or pear juice of a gravity(2) of at least 1033 degrees included in the mixture is a volume not less than 35 per cent of the volume of the pre-fermentation mixture,
(iv)the cider (or perry) satisfies the final product juice requirement if the aggregate of the volume of apple or pear juice of a gravity of at least 1033 degrees included in the pre-fermentation mixture and the volume of any such apple or pear juice added after fermentation commences is a volume not less than 35 per cent of the volume of the cider (or perry), and
(v)the volume of any juice, the pre-fermentation mixture and the cider (or perry) is to be computed as at 20°C.”.
Section 1(6) was amended by section 1 of the Finance Act 1984 (c. 43), section 1 of the Finance Act 1995 (c. 4), section 5 of the Finance Act 1997 (c. 16) and by article 5 of the Alcoholic Liquors (Amendment of Enactments relating to Strength and to Units of Measurement) Order 1979 S.I. 1979/241.
Section 3(1) of the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979 (c. 4), gives the meaning of “gravity” in that Act. In relation to any liquid,“gravity” means the ratio of the weight of a volume of the liquid to the weight of an equal volume of distilled water, and the volume of each liquid is computed as at 20°C. Where the gravity of any liquid is expressed as a number of degrees that number is that ratio multiplied by 1,000.